Oren: Dispute at Wall will require ‘compromise’

NEW YORK (JTA) — Israel’s U.S. ambassador said resolving the controversy over prayer at the Western Wall will require "compromise on everyone’s behalf."

Michael Oren, speaking Sunday night at the annual plenum of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in Dallas, responded to a question about Israel’s police investigation into women who wore prayer shawls openly and read from the Torah at the Western Wall.

The controversy, which came to a head in January when the leader of the group Women of the Wall was questioned by Jerusalem police, has galvanized liberal Jewish groups in the United States.

"I will only assure you that I think there are good solutions for the problems at the Kotel," Oren said in response to a question on the subject. "They are at the top of my agenda. And that at the end of the day, it will require compromise on everyone’s behalf."

Rabbi Steven Wernick, the president of the Conservative movement’s congregational arm, welcomed Oren’s remarks, saying "they show he understands that the status quo isn’t working and that some changes and compromises need to be made."